Distracted driving across the country is incredibly common, but it highly increases the risk of a car accident. Distracted driving can also take many different forms: While it is commonly associated with using a phone while driving, it can also involve attending to children in the car, switching the music, eating or drinking, or simply being emotionally distracted when driving.
If you have recently lost a loved one in an accident, it is important that you take the time to grieve and reflect. You should also make yourself aware of the most common causes of accidents so that you can file a wrongful death lawsuit when appropriate. The following is an overview of some of the key statistics and facts concerning fatalities caused by distracted driving.
Distracted driving is a factor in almost 9% of all fresh deaths
National police-reported data during 2019, it was found that 3142 people died in crashes in which distracted driving was a factor. This accounts for almost 9% of all crash-related deaths in 2019, and this statistic is almost certainly underestimated.
Mobile use was involved in 1% of all fatal crashes
One in nine of these crash fatalities in which distracted driving was a factor involved the use of a cell phone. This shows that cellphone use is associated with 1% of all fatal crashes, highlighting its danger, but also showing that there are many other forms of distracted driving.
Cell phone use is not the only distraction that can be fatal
Eight percent of all fatal crashes involved distracted driving that did not involve a cell phone. This means that the collision could have been caused by a person who was driving while experiencing extreme emotions such as anger or grief. It could also be caused by a person eating, drinking or smoking while operating a vehicle.
If you have lost a loved one in a fatal crash, you should make sure that justice is done and that the at-fault party is held accountable. This can be done by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.